Brent G. Dickinson, 33, lived in the Gateway Motel in Saratoga Springs in room #9 shown to the left behind the sign March 5, 2012. Dickinson is accused of threatening President Obama and school children in Saratoga Springs. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Brent G. Dickinson, 33, lived in the Gateway Motel in Saratoga Springs in room #9 shown to the left behind the sign March 5, 2012. Dickinson is accused of threatening President Obama and school children in ... more

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Image 2 of 3

Brent G. Dickinson

Brent G. Dickinson

Image 3 of 3

Cops detail activity by terror suspect

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The man accused of threatening to kill President Barack Obama and area school students had visited at least two schools before his arrest on terror charges, a law enforcement official said.

Brent G. Dickinson went into one public and one private school in Saratoga County before police charged him Friday with making terrorist threats against the President and schoolchildren, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to endanger the case.

Dickinson, 33, lived in a city motel and used public computers to send menacing messages to the White House website, according to court records made public Monday.

"The details of the email will not be released as they are evidence in a criminal case," Murphy said in a statement Monday. He declined to answer questions about Dickinson's actions.

Dickinson lived in Room 9 of the Gateway Motel on Maple Avenue, according to police. A woman working behind the desk at the motel declined comment Monday.

Secret Service agents intercepted messages that Dickinson sent and contacted police, who arrested him near the library shortly after he sent the Friday message, according to prosecutors. He is being held in Saratoga County jail on $50,000 bail set by City Court Judge James Doern.

When officers booked Dickinson in police headquarters on Friday, they told him that they investigate incidents and take appropriate action, court records say.

"So do I," Dickinson allegedly replied.

"You kick somebody hard enough, they are going to bark. I will explain what I said. Won't put it on paper so I can do ten years," he said, according to the documents.

A county grand jury will hear the case on March 21, Murphy said. Dickinson is due back in City Court Tuesday. He is being represented by the public defender's office, according to court papers.

"I have spoken to the U.S. Attorney's Office today, and they will be handling the email which allegedly contained the threat against the President and we will proceed with the prosecution of the threat against the elementary school-age children," Murphy said.

Dickinson's family is from Saratoga Springs, and he has lived in the city for years, according to reports. Even though he was not a Skidmore student, he gained access to a computer on campus, a college spokeswoman said.

Dickinson had lived on Warren Street and faced forgery charges for allegedly stealing a check from his father, according to past reports. He was arrested on aggravated harassment charges in 2008 for allegedly making repeated unwanted phone calls to a female. Information on the outcomes of those cases was not immediately available Monday.